Aprilia’s stand-in rider Bradley Smith set a sensational fastest time in a damp opening practice for MotoGP’s French Grand Prix at Le Mans.
Smith was promoted from test duties to the race seat on a temporary basis ahead of the start of the season due to Andrea Iannone’s doping ban.
Though he has had a low-key campaign, the cold and wet Friday morning weather at Le Mans gave him a chance to impress.
He jumped to sixth late on and then smashed in a 1m43.804s lap at the end of the session that proved 0.154s quicker than anyone else could manage.
Smith led a quartet of Ducatis as the Desmosedici riders revelled in the wet weather.
Pramac’s Jack Miller and works rider Danilo Petrucci both had spells on top, but it was Esponsorama (formerly Avintia) man Johann Zarco who ended up second to Smith.
Petrucci, Miller and Ducati’s title hope Andrea Dovizioso completed the top five.
Maverick Vinales was fastest for Yamaha before the end-of-session flurry dropped him to sixth.
He was followed by fellow Yamaha runners Franco Morbidelli and Valentino Rossi, but the fourth M1 of championship leader Fabio Quartararo was a cautious 18th.
Cal Crutchlow’s LCR Honda and Pol Espargaro’s KTM were the fastest from their respective ranks in ninth and 10th.
After a crash-strewn Moto3 session in similar conditions just before the MotoGP practice, the premier class runners did an impressive job to completely avoid accidents.
The current weather forecast suggests conditions should be dry for the race on Sunday.
Practice 1 Results
| Pos | Name | Team | Bike | Gap Next | Gap Leader | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bradley Smith | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 1m43.804s | ||
| 2 | Johann Zarco | Avintia Racing | Ducati | +0.154s | +0.154s | 1m43.958s |
| 3 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati Team | Ducati | +0.066s | +0.22s | 1m44.024s |
| 4 | Jack Miller | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.108s | +0.328s | 1m44.132s |
| 5 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati Team | Ducati | +0.016s | +0.344s | 1m44.148s |
| 6 | Maverick Viñales | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | +0.032s | +0.376s | 1m44.18s |
| 7 | Franco Morbidelli | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.261s | +0.637s | 1m44.441s |
| 8 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | +0.07s | +0.707s | 1m44.511s |
| 9 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR Honda | Honda | +0.143s | +0.85s | 1m44.654s |
| 10 | Pol Espargaró | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.106s | +0.956s | 1m44.76s |
| 11 | Francesco Bagnaia | Pramac Racing | Ducati | +0.023s | +0.979s | 1m44.783s |
| 12 | Alex Rins | Team Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | +0.063s | +1.042s | 1m44.846s |
| 13 | Joan Mir | Team Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | +0.134s | +1.176s | 1m44.98s |
| 14 | Alex Marquez | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.001s | +1.177s | 1m44.981s |
| 15 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +1.141s | +2.318s | 1m46.122s |
| 16 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +0.123s | +2.441s | 1m46.245s |
| 17 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda | Honda | +0.229s | +2.67s | 1m46.474s |
| 18 | Fabio Quartararo | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | +0.02s | +2.69s | 1m46.494s |
| 19 | Miguel Oliveira | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | +0.024s | +2.714s | 1m46.518s |
| 20 | Iker Lecuona | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | +0.1s | +2.814s | 1m46.618s |
| 21 | Tito Rabat | Avintia Racing | Ducati | +0.238s | +3.052s | 1m46.856s |
| 22 | Stefan Bradl | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
